Page 43 - some-stuff-i-wrote-and-some-stuff-i-didn't-(2011)-h-morris-williams

Some Stuff I Wrote (2001) H. Morris Williams

tragically historic accident on October 15, 1959. Edward, an Air Force officer, was co-piloting a

huge KC-135 jet tanker, refueling an equally huge B-59 jet bomber in mid-air over Kentucky. There
was an accident and the planes collided - at 600 miles per hour - and all aboard were killed. That
was the first ever collision between two huge planes re-fueling in mid-air. Lessons were learned

from the terrible tragedy and safer procedures were established from then on.
In 1933, Lake City had one school campus, located on West Duval Street and offering grades

1-12 with a total enrollment of 1,147. Today, CHS has 200 more students than that in the upper
three grades. By the way, the opening football game in 1933 had the CHS Tigers facing the High

Springs Sandspurs.
That same year, the “grammar school” grades (1-6), had excellent student attendance. The

lowest monthly attendance was 94.5 percent.
Jim Watson, Jacksonville TV gardening expert, used to be our Columbia County agricultural

agent, based right here in Lake City.
Until 1949, the only Future Farmers of America chapter at CHS was the Columbia Chapter.

In 1949, the Bill Sheely Chapter was formed in honor of an FFA member from Columbia County
who lost his life in World War II.
Nelson Blocker of Lake City is the only Floridian ever to be honored as a 50-year member

of the Florida Society of American Forestry.

Coach Faris Brannon, whose Frostproof team won the class 2A 1992 state football
championship, was a CHS Tiger captain (along with Jimmy Wilson) under Coach Don Brown in
1960.

-38-

www.LakeCityHistory.com LCH-UUID: CD05D759-5273-4705-A6D7-381FCF749098